The internal combustion engine has enjoyed a prominent role in the transportation industry, and has served as the conventional power plant for the myriads of wheeled vehicles that have been manufactured in the various countries of the world. Spear-headed in large part by the automotive industry, impetus was given the development of the internal combustion engine in the United States by the free-enterprise system, with each manufacturer vying for reliable engine performance and an advantage in the marketplace.
WITH THE REALIZATION OF ACCEPTABLE ENGINE PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY, HOWEVER, INNOVATIVE ATTENTION IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY WAS REDIRECTED AWAY FROM THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE AND TO SUCH PROMOTIONAL FEATURES AS STYLING, ROADABILITY, HANDLING EASE, COMFORT AND LUXURY. This trend away from engine innovation has persisted without significant interruption until quite recently when, due to run-away inflation and the threat of critical energy shortages, emphasis was again shifted, graphically and dramatically, to the internal combustion engine and to related innovations that might hold promise of improved fuel economy, enhanced performance, and economy in manufacture.
Notwithstanding the complacency with which the conventional internal combustion engine was regarded during the period of its slackened development, various conceptual defects in engine design have been known to those skilled in the art. Included among the defects that are now most commonly scrutinized are: (1) the manner in which the power thrust of the pistons is applied to the output shaft, (2) failure to vary the intake stroke of the pistons according to the load that is placed on the output shaft, and (3) failure to utilize the heat generating property of the pistons for pre-heating and vaporizably conditioning the fuel-air mixture prior to its passage through the intake ports of the cylinders. With reference to the first named defect above, both engine efficiency and manufacturing economy are sacrificed by applying the power thrust of the pistons to the commonly known crankshaft, such crankshaft being both exceedingly costly to manufacture and functionally inefficient by reason of the limited leverage that may be applied by the connecting rods thereagainst, as well as the power-dissipating action of the connecting rods in describing the force vector relative to the rods and the crankshaft.
With reference to the second named defect above, both fuel economy and engine performance are sacrificed by reason of the constant and unvarying nature of the intake stroke that is provided each piston regardless of the load that is applied to the output shaft, each piston being driven an equal distance by the crankshaft during its exhaust, intake and compression strokes, and the length of the crankshaft-activated intake, compression and exhaust strokes being equal to the piston-activated power stroke. In considering the unvarying nature of the intake stroke of the conventional engine, it will be apparent that fuel is wasted whenever more than the required amount of fuel-air mixture is drawn into a cylinder, and that movement of a piston by the crankshaft a greater distance than is required of an intake stroke serves to detract directly from the power that would otherwise be generated by the engine.
With reference to the third named defect above, both engine efficiency and manufacturing economy are sacrificed by failing to utilize the heat generating property of the pistons to pre-heat and to vaporize the fuel-air mixture before it is drawn into the cylinders, and by utilizing a separate and costly liquid cooling system to dissipate the piston-generated heat.